The purpose of this study was to explore what the word "play" means and implies for Korean preservice kindergarten teachers in an early childhood teacher education program. The research questions under investigation were: (1) How do Korean preservice teachers with an early childhood emphasis view play? (2) How do factors such as culture and education influence the constructing of these views? The participants were ten Korean preservice kindergarten teachers enrolled in the Department of Early Childhood Education in one teacher education college in Korea. The data for this study was collected through in-depth qualitative interviews both individual and group and other qualitative methods. The findings of this study showed that Korean preservice kindergarten teachers had a conceptual conflict in the perception of general play and educational play. General play was considered as a fun, enjoyable, and spontaneous activity that is engaged in without concern for a specific outcome. General play was also thought as the opposite concept to work or study. Educational play was regarded as an ironical concept, since Korean preservice kindergarten teachers thought that learning occurs through working, not playing. Korean preservice kindergarten teachers theoretically advocated for the pedagogy of learning through play, just as they were taught in the teacher education program. However, Korean preservice kindergarten teachers did not agree with the practical effect of play on children's learning. Korean preservice kindergarten teachers were more supportive of a structured and pre-planned program for young children, believing that it resulted in better learning opportunities for children than a play-oriented program. The findings of the study revealed that personal experiences with play, the kind of education of the preservice teachers themselves received in their teacher training program, and Korean culture had significant roles in influencing the participant preservice teachers' ideas on play. This study implies that interpretations of play as an educational tool vary from culture to culture. Further research is needed to more deeply understand how views and attitudes on play are created and enacted.

<p>Music has always been an important form of communication and it can be found in many different contexts including aesthetical, cultural and emotional forms. In the globalized society of today music can be distributed fast through radio, TV, CD: s and the Internet. For many people consumption of music is an important part of the daily life and it can contribute to shape an individual’s attitudes and personality.</p><p>The main purpose of this study is to find out whether there are any differences between men and women’s musical preferences. I will apply an explorative approach using qualitative interviews to describe what causes the differences. My results show that there is a difference between men and women’s musical preferences at least on the surface. Men preferred listening to rock and women favoured pop to a greater extent. These results could be affected by socialisation which refers to common norms in the society describing how women and men should behave. Socialisation can be linked to musical preferences and clearly both sexes are affected by this. It can be problematic to break these norms fearing exclusion from certain social groups. Some factors that effects musical preferences are socialisation, gender and identity.</p>

My essay aims to explore, "What image is conveyed by the stone mason's life and work on Korpåsberget". In my essay I have been working with respondent interviews to examine the purpose. I've been trying to get interviewees to talk freely, but have also had a number of indicative questions for support.  In order to process and understand the interviews, I also have a part in the essay aiming to provide background information to the stone industry in Bohuslän, an area along the westcoast in Sweden, and foremost in the area of Bovallstrand. The text discusses the stone industry's development in the area, its development and the time until the stone industry at large was closed. As for the stone industry in Bovallstrand I have chosen to focus on the largest quarry in society, namely the Korpåsberget. The background text also briefly covers stonecutter’s lives and work. As a methodological viewpoint, I used literature on qualitative interviews.  Then I will discuss a report on the content of each interview. I at the end of the work, I then go through interview responses and analyze them in relation to my questions and purpose. Based on the essay, other questions were raised which I have also responded to. The interviews have shown that the interviewees' attitude, commitment or lack of such, and their relationship to their father affects the interviews.

The aim of this study was to investigate if the experiences of work environment of employees in the elder care in the municipality of Umeå can be linked to high or low sickness absence. The method used was semi-structural qualitative interviews. Six retirement homes participated in the study and were divided into two groups, based on whether they had high or low figures of sickness absence. 28 elder care workers of different educational levels were interviewed. The interview questions were divided into categories. For the key phrases; “Have great possibilities of influencing one´s schedule” (category influence), “Is offered education” (category development and challenge), “The work pace depends on the wellbeing of the residents” (category physical and psychological workload), “Reflect/Do not reflect on work at home” (category physical and psychological workload), “Difficult to resolve conflicts” (category working climate and wellbeing) and “Stressful work” (category working climate and wellbeing) statistically significant differences between the groups were detected. Risk factors in the work environment, such as, time pressure, conflicts and physical and psychological strain are described by employees at retirement homes with both higher and lower figures of sickness absence. Differences between the sexes could not be investigated, but that does not exclude possible differences. Based on the results the conclusion is drawn that aspects of influence, development and challenge, physical and psychological workload and working climate and wellbeing can be factors that impact on sickness absence in the elder care in the municipality of Umeå.

Bakgrund: Individer med narkotikamissbruk tillhör en stigmatiserad grupp som löper stor risk att drabbas av ohälsa och därför kan förväntas ha mycket kontakt med hälso- och sjukvården. Studier har visat att sjuksköterskor har negativa attityder och försämrat bemötande gentemot denna grupp. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva vilka upplevelser personer med aktivt eller tidigare narkotikamissbruk haft av bemötande från sjuksköterskor och annan vårdpersonal samt deras inställning till hälso- och sjukvård. Metod: En intervjustudie med kvalitativ ansats genomfördes. Resultat: Analysen av intervjuerna resulterade i fyra teman: Stigmatiserande bemötande, Motarbetande bemötande, Attityder till hälso- och sjukvården och Mänskligt bemötande är gott bemötande. Slutsatser: Deltagarna i den här studien har inom hälso- och sjukvården upplevt negativt bemötande kopplat till deras aktiva eller tidigare missbruksproblematik. Negativt bemötande mot en utsatt grupp kan leda till förstärkt utanförskap, känslor av maktlöshet och ökad risk för ohälsa. Med ökad kunskap kan sjuksköterskan ge bättre bemötande vilket skulle kunna ha hälsofrämjande effekt. Implikationer: Mer specifikt utbildningsinnehåll om beroende och narkotikamissbruk behövs både på grundutbildningen och som fortbildning för redan verksamma sjuksköterskor för att denna patientgrupp ska få ett bättre bemötande. / Background: Individuals with drug abuse belong to a stigmatized group at high risk of ill-health and can therefore be expected to be in much contact with health care. Studies have shown that nurses have negative attitudes and deficient encounter towards this group. Aim: The aim was to describe what experiences persons with present or former drug abuse has had regarding encounters with nurses and other health care personnel and also their attitude regarding health care. Method: An interview study with a qualitative approach was conducted. Result: The analysis of the interviews resulted in four themes: Stigmatizing encounters, Opposing encounters, Attitudes regarding health care and Humanly encounters are good encounters. Conclusions: The participants in this study have experienced negative encounters in health care related to their present or former drug abuse. Negative encounters towards an exposed group can lead to strengthened exclusion, feelings of powerlessness and increased risk of illness. With enhanced knowledge, the nurse can provide better encounters which could have a health promoting effect. Implications: More specific education about addiction and drug abuse is needed both in the undergraduate program and as further training for practicing nurses in order to give this patient group a better encounter.

Given the complexity of medicines use in elderly patients, structures and processes of medicines management are key to deriving best outcomes. This research was conducted in hospitals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and focused on the patient journey from admission to discharge. The overall aim was to explore the structures and processes of medicines management in elderly hospitalised patients in the UAE, conducted in three phases. Phase 1. Following a review of systematic reviews of aspects of medicines management (e.g. reconciliation), this phase focused on a specific, emerging tool (the Drug Burden Index (DBI)) relating to anticholinergic/sedative agents, which are problematic in the elderly. The aim was to critically appraise, synthesize and present evidence of DBI use. The review protocol was registered with the Joanna Briggs Institute and conducted according to best accepted practice. The key finding was the lack of evidence of DBI use prospectively to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing. Phase 2. Phase 2 employed a qualitative phenomenological design to explore health professionals’ views and experiences of medicines management. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 professionals and analysed using Normalization Process Theory (NPT) and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Findings revealed little evidence of coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring (NPT). TDF domains dominant were: professional role, identity; beliefs about capabilities; beliefs about consequences; environmental context, resources; and knowledge. Phase 3. The Delphi technique in phase 3 aimed to determine consensus around medicines management using an expert panel of policy makers, educators and lead health professionals. Phase 1 and 2 findings were used in construction of validated statements. A high level of consensus (≥70% strongly agree/agree) was obtained for statements other than those for targeting medicines management (rather than all elderly admissions) and tasks linked to professions (rather than trained staff). Overall, this research has generated original findings focused on the entire inpatient hospital journey, particularly the need to more clearly define, refine and agree on healthcare structures and processes across the entire patient journey from admission to discharge. The use of the NPT and TDF has highlighted those individual practitioners and organisational issues which require consideration.

Bakgrund: Ungefär 200.000 kvinnor i Sverige har endometrios. Endometriumet växer utanför livmodern och utvecklandet av endometrios kan orsakas av retrograd menstruation i kombination med hormonella faktorer, ärftlighet och ett nedsatt lokalt immunförsvar. Vanliga symptom är hög smärta, minskad fertilitet och nedsatt livskvalité. Behandlingen syftar till att uppnå god funktionsnivå med hanterbara symptom. Fysioterapeutiska åtgärder har prioritet 2. Syfte: Att undersöka upplevelsen av fysioterapeutisk behandling vid endometrios ur patienters och fysioterapeuters perspektiv. Metod: Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes, tre med endometriospatienter och tre med fysioterapeuter. Datan analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysprocessen resulterade i fyra huvudkategorier: ”Anpassning utifrån den individuella patienten”, ”Syfte och effekt av behandling”, ”Känsloupplevelser och faktorer som bidrar till drivkraft och hopp” och ”Fysioterapeutens roll”. Den fysioterapeutiska behandlingen upplevdes sätta patientens behov i fokus genom individuell och anpassad behandling. Samstämmigt framkom att behandlingen upplevdes symptomlindra och frambringa skräckblandad förtjusning, men också hopp. Fysioterapeuten upplevdes ge trygghet och hjälp. Konklusion: Fysioterapi vid endometrios kan upplevas vara värdefull för att minska smärta och muskelanspänning samt för att hitta copingstrategier i vardagen. Fysioterapeuten upplevdes kunna få patienterna att känna sig hörda, sedda och hjälpta. / Background: In Sweden approximately 200.000 women have been diagnosed with endometriosis. Endometrial-like tissue is growing outside the uterus. The development of endometriosis could be multifactorial, caused by retrograde menstruation combined with hormonal factors, heredity and a weakened local immune system. Common symptoms are different variations of pain, infertility and decreased quality of life. The purpose of the treatment is to ensure a good level of functioning with manageable symptoms. Physical therapy is highly recommended when treating endometriosis. Purpose: To investigate the experiences of physical therapy treatment in endometriosis according to patients and physiotherapists. Method: Six semi-structured interviews were conducted, of which three were including patients with endometriosis and three were including physiotherapists. The data was analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in four main categories: “Adaptation based on the individual patient”, “Purpose and effect of the treatment”, “Emotional experiences and factors that contribute to power and hope” and “The role of the physiotherapist”. The physical therapy was perceived as focusing on the patient´s needs. It was unanimously agreed that the treatment reduced symptoms and could engender delight mingled with terror, but also hope. The physical therapy treatment was found to provide safety and assistance. Conclusion: Physical therapy in endometriosis can be experienced as valuable for reducing pain and muscle tension and for providing coping strategies in everyday life. The physiotherapist was found to be able to make the patients feel heard, seen and helped.

Bakgrund Basal kroppskännedom (BK) används idag inom fysioterapin som behandlingsmetod för att öka kroppsmedvetenhet bland patienter. Det råder brist på solid kunskap om BK som behandlingsform samt fysioterapeuters erfarenheter kring hur interventionen används.  Syfte Att undersöka fysioterapeuters uppfattningar och erfarenheter av metoden BK och hur de använder sig av BK i sin kliniska vardag.   Metod Studie är av kvalitativ design. Fem fysioterapeuter intervjuades genom enskilda semistrukturerade intervjuer. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för bearbetning av data. Resultat Utifrån insamlade data identifierades tre huvudkategorier: (1) Patienter som har svårt att vara i sin kropp gynnas av metoden, (2) fysioterapeuten och patienten gör övningarna tillsammans och (3) ökad medvetenhet om sambandet mellan kropp och sinne.  Konklusion: Studiens resultat visar att fysioterapeuterna uppfattar att metoden BK används för i princip alla tillstånd men är särskilt gynnsam för personer som lider av psykisk ohälsa och långvarig smärta. Fysioterapeuterna anser att det krävs mycket av både patienten och fysioterapeuten vid denna metod och att den därför skiljer sig från andra behandlingsmetoder. Målet med behandlingen är att skapa en balans mellan kropp och sinne. Fysioterapeuterna använder BK i huvudsakligen för att de har goda kliniska erfarenheter från metoden. / Background Basic body awareness therapy (BBAT) is used today in physiotherapy as a treatment method to increase body awareness among patients. There is a lack of solid knowledge about BBAT as a form of treatment and physiotherapists' experiences of how the intervention is used. Purpose Physiotherapist understandings and experiences with BBAT and how they use it in their clinical practices. Method The study is of a qualitative design. Five physiotherapists were interviewed separately. Qualitative content analysis was used for analyzing the data. Results Based on the collected data, three main categories were identified: (1) Patients who have difficulty being in their body benefit from the method, (2) The physiotherapist and the patient do the exercises together and (3) Increased awareness of the connection between body and mind. Conclusion The results of the study showed that the physiotherapists perceived that the BBAT method is used for basically all conditions, but is particularly favorable for people suffering from mental illness and long-term pain. The physiotherapists believe that this method requires a lot from both the patient and the physiotherapist and that it therefore differs from other treatment methods. The goal of the treatment is to create a balance between body and mind. The physiotherapists use BBAT mainly because of their good clinical experience from the method.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers’ views from both the Philippines and Sweden differ based on their own experiences and approaches in relation to the children’s involvement in their everyday life at the preschool. This research sheds light on what strategies and pedagogical approaches the preschool teachers have to involve the children to participate. Moreover, this research will look at and compare what the preschool teachers see as challenges or hindrances in giving children the chance to influence. Qualitative video and personal interviews with five preschool teachers have been conducted from five different preschools in total, two in Sweden and three in the Philippines. The results show that all teachers want to involve the children and give them influence. However, the Swedish preschool teachers put more emphasis on this. It is obvious from the results that the Swedish children are given more influence than the Filipino children. In my analysis I investigate the reasons for this; that might not only be because of a different mindset of the preschool teachers but also structural differences such as a different curriculum, different daily routines, the number of pedagogues per child and the impact of group size.

This essay is a qualitative interview study of how six upper secondary school history teachers view and work with students’ diversity of identities in teaching. The questions that the study sought to answer were how history teachers viewed and worked with students’ diversity of identities, as exemplified by specific assignments, along with their selection of teaching materials, and the impact of their own identity on their teaching. These questions were analysed using Manuel Castells’ three aspects of legitimate identity, resistance identity, and project identity, complemented by Carsten Ljunggren’s reasoning concerning a national identity, as the main theoretical framework. In doing so, the study concluded that the teachers viewed working with identity in the history subject as a luxury, dependent on factors such as lesson time, adaption to students, citizen education, and the room for a norm-critical approach. Due to these factors, it was concluded that the history subject unintentionally and mainly conveyed a legitimate identity to the students.  From their exemplified assignments, the study found that student-centred assignments more often enabled the inclusion of resistance identities as well as project identities. The teachers claimed that teaching materials such as textbooks were Eurocentric and needed to be complemented by other material to include other perspectives. It was also concluded that teachers’ gender, social class, and ethnicity had an impact on their teaching. The study found that a new national identity in the history subject, as illustrated by the inclusion of project identities, was linked to the use of intercultural pedagogy and student-centred assignments.